Praying for 1. Some Cohesion (Ill fitting parts with young bucks, new guys, and those playing for next contracts may muck things up all season) 2. Better Coaching, No More Tanking (Last season was more of the latter but not sure how much of the former we can count on. Walton with something to prove this season as much as any Laker player) 3. Rookie Watch (Hoping Lonzo outshines his daddy (ROTY??), and Kuzma finds minutes and makes a push for all rook 2nd team).

I think what SAS was likely referring to is the type of people male and female that jump in peoples faces or are violent throwing hands at either gender and then get retaliated against and instantly become the 'victim'. That's likely what he was referring to.

He probably would have been better off saying "If a woman came at me trying to hurt me with an object or her fists and I defend myself by hitting her to get her off of me, she can go to the police and I'll get arrested and paraded around as a woman beater because society doesn't want to hear or know if she did anything to provoke my response."

That would have made more sense than what he said. Like what Beyonce's sister was doing to Jay-Z in the elevator and basically assaulting him? If Jay-Z had hit her to stop her(which he came close to doing a couple of times had security not been there) then would anyone have blamed him? Would Jay-Z be a woman beater then? No, because there's footage obviously showing what happened.

However if there was no footage and all we saw was Beyonce's sister with a black eye from Jay-Z punching her then the story would become different.

I think that is what Stephen A was "trying" to say, to look at the actions of everyone involved before rushing to label someone when we don't know what provoked the action if anything.

There is many many MANY better ways he could have come around to make that point. He didn't find any really. From a woman, particularly a woman that's been abused perspective it's that if you see a woman as just an object in the first place it makes 'striking' her an easier response to other ways of dealing with it. So it's a very slippery slope and sensitive topic.

Stephen A could have just said he didn't condone it but that there ARE situations where neither side is the innocent side. Like the humanity test that was on youtube a few weeks ago

THIS is something Stephen A should have pointed people to. Would have opened more eyes on this important issue.

I kind of understand what he was trying to say and it is true that domestic violence goes both ways but the way he went about saying it was so poorly thought out. The way he came across it sounded like he was saying women provoke their own beatings and anyone could understand how that's going to be misinterpreted. Then again, for a guy who screams at someone else half his adult life I'm not surprised he couldn't properly articulate what he was trying to say.

yes, but being accused of that probably is sensitive to Stephen A as well as he was raised by women and his mother and grandmother are the two most important people in his life. So really for Beadle took it the way she did or to accuse him of meaning it that way shows that she knows absolutely nothing about her own co-worker. It could have been handled better on both sides imo. Considering SAS's upbringing and how important women have been not only in his life but to where he is nowadays, he'd never mean it in that way.

She herself is a victim of abuse so of course she's going to blow her top, at the same time it's something she could have handled with SAS instead of putting him on blast in social media for the most part where all the women at ESPN ganged up on him when he's probably had more womans influence in his life and upbringing then they could ever imagine. They work with this guy for tens of years and they assume that's how he meant it? That's waaaaaay left field to pin it on him as if he MEANS it that way.

He should have said it differently and his words could be interpreted the wrong way. But instead of them all deciding to gang up on him like they have no clue who he is one of them could have actually stood up and said "My collegue used a bad choice of words today to draw attention to an issue that doesn't get discussed enough. Anyone that knows Stephen A Smith knows that his mother and his grandmother who had a profound impact on his life mean the world to him, and he'd never say anything demeaning or intentionally negative like that towards a woman, not given how much love he has for his own. HE could have worded it differently, but if any journalist tries to pin Stephen A as a guy who is against women in that fashion or as a man who thinks women provoke their own beatings, know nothing of the man at all."

But noooope... it was beat on SAS day as if they never knew him.

Edited by Majesty, July 26, 2014 - 04:57 PM.

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"Bryant had come to rage against the idea that Howard's clownish disposition could overtake the locker room, the Lakers' culture, and had warned Howard that he would never, ever let it happen."

It's always easy to think about the best way to respond in retrospect but everyone has let emotions get the better of them at one point or another. I think if people should be mad at anyone it's the NFL for such a ridiculously lenient penalty. Knock your fiance unconscious? 2 games. Smoke weed? Season. Something doesn't add up there.

It's always easy to think about the best way to respond in retrospect but everyone has let emotions get the better of them at one point or another. I think if people should be mad at anyone it's the NFL for such a ridiculously lenient penalty. Knock your fiance unconscious? 2 games. Smoke weed? Season. Something doesn't add up there.

yeah we complained about Stern a lot but roger goodell doesn't know what he's doing. It's crazy that someone thats known to have an iron fist could be so lenient on such a big case

It's always easy to think about the best way to respond in retrospect but everyone has let emotions get the better of them at one point or another. I think if people should be mad at anyone it's the NFL for such a ridiculously lenient penalty. Knock your fiance unconscious? 2 games. Smoke weed? Season. Something doesn't add up there.

Roger Goodell is the biggest hypocrite in sports and is the number one reason the NFL has declined as a game significantly in the past 8 years. IDGAF about it's ratings, the on field product is watered down and poor and his personal conduct policy is full of holes.